Pill Case Woes

Well, it never seems to get any easier. As much as I love my kitty pill case, I really needed a divided case, since most small, white round pills look an awful lot alike. I had been ogling this case for a couple months before I broke down and ordered it (I have no idea what the pink thing is about lately, but I do love me some sparkles!).

Sadly, while it works great for said small, round pills, my arthritis pills are just too honkin’ big for the little divisions. This leaves me with the spectre of carrying *three* pill cases and I just refuse to go there. I decided to take my Niacin and D3 in the evenings with dinner (and since my iron is fine I’m not going to change my multivitamin and calcium to evenings, after all).

For those keeping record, this brings me up to an average of 22 pills, vitamins, and supplements on a given day. Factor in as-needed pills on a bad day and the max can jump to as high as 33. Feh. Of course, two-thirds of those are vitamins and supplements, but even so, while I am really happy that my doctors try to do as much without prescriptions as possible, sorting out my vitamins (and popping them at meals) is still an event for social commentary and the occasional mocking that I am more than moderately self-conscious about.

I’m debating getting something like this: Purple Weekly Pill Turtle XL but I can’t tell if the divisions will be large enough for a days worth of pills. Something like Gasketed VitaCarry 8 Compartment Pill Box Holds Up To 150 Pills Waterproof would work, but I worry about spilling (the same issue I have now), and the case is HUGE. I would feel even more conspicuous than I already do. Do you carry a lot of pills with you on a daily basis? If so, what do you use? Please post links if possible, or let me know if you have any suggestions.

To give you an idea of what I’m dealing with, I currently carry five days worth of lunchtime vitamins: Fish Oil (large), Red Yeast Rice x2 (large), multivitamin (large), Calcium +D (large), B complex (medium), iron (small), Folic acid (small). In a separate case I usually carry 2-3 doses of OTC arthritis painkillers x2 (medium), and four or five medium and small pills.

In silly news, my D3 pills? Are so tiny and cute it’s ridiculous! I never imagined a pill could be cute, but this totally is. I am truly a sick individual on many, many levels…

Image from We Heart It

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Little Things Mean a Lot

And in this case, those “little things” are my vitamins.

I take my vitamins in the middle of the day so they do not counteract the thyroid medication that I take first thing in the morning. I have gotten pretty good about my pill schedule (I take various medications and vitamins four times a day) but every once in a while I forget to refill my pill case. Like this weekend. So I do not have my lunchtime vitamins today.

“How important can some OTC vitamins possibly be?” Well, there’s nothing like not having them to remind me. I take a regular multivitamin, and a calcium+d to help compensate for my lactose intolerance and just generally not getting enough d. (Most doctors recommend extra calcium for women of pretty much all ages.) I take a flax or fish oil caplet to help out my cholesterol, an iron supplement for my anemia, and a b complex which helps with my thyroid dysfunction and general afternoon fatigue. The last two are especially important to my ability to function, and I’m really feeling their lack right now.

I would chalk this up to psychological factors, except it’s happened before when I didn’t realise I had forgotten my vitamins and felt pretty awful; it’s been a bit too regular to just discount. Since I started taking lunchtime vitamins my afternoon fatigue has improved considerably, without resorting to caffeine or sweets to keep me going. Unfortunately, I’m so knackered right now I’m not sure I could even drive home. I’m going to see if I can scrounge a vitamin water to help me get through the end of the day and possible head home early.

And I’ll be sure to fill my pill case.

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